Earlier, the Russian national team lost to the Hungarians in Budapest by a score of 1-3 in a playoff match and got bumped from the World Group

Andrey Rublev

MOSCOW, September 18. /TASS/. Russian tennis players’ defeat handed to them by Hungary in a qualification playoff for the Davis Cup World Group cannot be called a tragedy, President of the Russian Tennis Federation (RTF) Shamil Tarpishchev told TASS.

Earlier, the Russian national team lost to the Hungarians in Budapest by a score of 1-3 in a playoff match and got bumped from the World Group. In the next season, the team will perform in the European-African group.

"I don’t think it’s a tragedy. This is experience that our guys gained, better now, than during the ‘big’ leagues. Because what is happening now in their (the Russian tennis players - TASS) regard is they’re getting knowledge for the future. We shouldn’t overreact: These guys are 19-20, and in two years they will be able to compete for a victory at the Davis Cup," Tarpishchev stressed.

Quaterfinalist at the US Open Andrey Rublev lost to Marton Fucsovics in Budapest. "The Hungarians arrived home a week earlier after America and had a very slow court. Rublev failed to adapt, because he played the longest and came last, that’s the problem. It was possible to take risks in pairing up Rublev, but then we would have ruined him. He played 10 sets and got the worst days in terms of getting adjusted after arrival," Tarpishchev emphasized.

These type of matches should have replacements and an extensive bench for the Russian team’s success, the RTF president believes. "Regarding personal calendars, not everyone can fit themselves in and be at a game at a set time period. For example, Medvedev was partially out, but I think that he just hadn’t enough time to get back into the swing of things because of the abundance of tournaments. Generally speaking, Rublev and Khachanov should have been in his place instead, for sure, as Medvedev was at a low ebb," he pointed out.

Tarpishchev could not attend the game, because he was at a session of the International Olympic Committee in Lima at the time as its member, so Igor Kunitsyn acted as the team’s leader. "I don’t think that Kunitsyn was wrong on some points. He has no experience in [sending] messages to players, and this does not get instilled in the first match. But hints should be provided in time, and this all comes with practice," Tarpishchev noted.